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- if the sugar + water + heat consistency are not in relation with each other, the Jamon (sugar syrup) will crystallise after a while (when it gets back to normal temperature). If you are not sure how to bring/check to a one string consistency (it’s quite simple, either check for the stickiness using your fingers, or drop a lump in cold water that turns into a tiny sinking ball or verify the state of the bubbles while the solution (water + sugar) boils or see weather the drops don’t fall but make a tiny bubble while exiting the holes of the perforated skimmer (Jalli Karandi) – so if you are not able to verify whether the syrup is ready, add 1 tsp of lemon juice to the sugar syrup. It avoids the crystallisation. Normally, it should take not more than 20 to 25 minutes to get to the desired consistency.

- the Gulab, meaning flower, should be soft as a flower. It needs minimum 3 hours to absorb the syrup. We cannot get the right texture during initial tries. We have to keep repeating by preparing Gulab Jamon several times, each time correcting the minute errors, until we get the right texture.

The Gulab could get hard for few many reasons. It is a very sensible and delicate ingredient, just like a flower. Whether it is made using milk powder or Khoya (Pal Kova), if needed attention is not given, the Gulab will harden.

1/ Make the dough is soft and wet but not sticky. Avoid using water, as it will create a molecular reaction. Use only milk or curd, adding them little by little.

2/ Never press or beat the batter. Just do a gentle massage.

3/ Do not press or flatten the batter while rolling them into tiny balls. Take your time to roll them softly between your palms.

4/ Heat the ghee on a low flame. Cook the Gulab slowly turning them constantly. It should not get over cooked.

5/ The syrup and the tiny balls should be warm when they are introduced to each other (meaning none should be hot, cool them down a bit).

6/ If at all the Gulabs are hard after 3 hours, take a tooth pick and make 3 to 4 tiny holes inside them. It must do the trick, else, bring them to a boil along with the syrup after piercing them.

1 liter milk
8 cardamom, powdered
200g of Sugar
1 pinch of Safran
2 1/2 table spoon of corn flour (or double cream if you can find it, preparing it will take long, so corn flour is just perfect)
About 25g of each - Pistachio, Cashew nuts, Badamde - chopped into fine pieces

Optional : 2 table spoon of condensed milk

Praparation

1/ Infuse safran in 2 or 3 table spoon of milk and set it aside.
2/ Boil milk in a thick bottom vessel over low flame until it becomes 1/2 litre (takes about 30 to 45 minutes). Stir constantly not allowing the milk to attach to the bottom.

3/ Once the milk is thick, add sugar and stir for about 3 minutes.
4/ Add the grains and stir for about 3 minutes
5/ Dilute corn flour in water and mix it weel. Add it to the milk while stir it constantly. Cook for about 3 minutes.
6/ Add cardamom and stir for about 3 minutes
7/ Remove the milk from flame and add safran (add condensed milk if you wish), stir well.
8/ Keep it aside and let it cook down (takes about 2 hours under room temperature).
9/ Pou it into a mould.

Kulfi Mould

Special Kulfi moulds are available in India (alluminium or plastic). Outside India we can buy them online, but they are costly. During my recent visit to India, I collected the mud pots (Matka) and brought them back to France. You can also place the kulfi inside normal ice-cream moulds.

10/ Place the moulds in a freezer for about 6 to 7 hours (depends on what type of freezer you own).

Preparation of Tandoori Chicken traditionally will take more than twelve hours before it actually comes on to the dining table. Prepared using about 20 different kind of ingredients (grounded grains mixed into masala powders), the time taken just to put everything together would take few hours, and then comes the double marination part that takes most of the time.

There is a friendly and ‘easy-to-follow-method’ that takes much less time for preparation and margination (in about 2 hours the Tandoori Chicken is ready).

There are few tips and methods to be followed strictly for the Tandoori Chicken to be crisp, soft, juicy and delicious. Dressing well the poultry increases the softness. The marinations (2 different types) give the needed flavours. The ingredients make the meat crisp and delicious.

The chicken pieces must be washed well; fats removed; and dried either with a kitchen cloth or kitchen paper. The meat must be absolutely dry. Dryness allows the meat to absorb the marination and also to bring crispiness to the surface.

The meat being hard or rough once cooked is due to the slits that are put over the pieces. Usually the chicken breast/thigh/leg are slit randomly, and thus, it takes long time to cook resulting in giving a hard texture to the meat.

Slicing chicken has some specific rules/functionalities. Slitting varies according to the part of the poultry prepared for Tandoori. When I visit restaurants, looking at the slits I can say how the Tandoori is going to taste without even putting it in the mouth. That’s how indicative the slits on the meat are. They are not there for design. They are there for a specific reason.

Here is how to slit the thigh and the drumstick with bones (as this recipe covers this part of the poultry) : The cuts must be deep without cracking the structure of the meat piece -

1/ The thigh must be slit thrice until the knife scratches on the bone.

2/ The joint between the thigh and the drumstick must be sliced, so that the two meat parts attached together separate.

3/ Two slits on either side of the drumstick, and one each on the opposite parts. Actually, you do a rotation of the chicken leg while slitting - 2-1-2-1

4/ Important : The bottom of the leg where the tendon nerve is situated, make a circular cut until the flesh tears and exposes the tendon. (Personally I pull the nerve as much as possible and remove it). This is important because, this part resists the heat and the meat around it and interior take long to cook, thus, making the meat rough. By cutting out this part, the heat can enter and the chicken pieces will be cooked uniformly (inside an electric oven or under a Tandoor oven or over a grill smoked by charcoal/wood). In the below photo, make a note of this part of the leg, how detached the meat is from the bottom of the leg bone).

For the chilli powder, either "Tikhalal" or "Kashmirilal" can be used. Both give a fine red colour to the meat, as I normally avoid using artificial colouring. "Tikhalal" is a bit spicy (hot) compared to "Kashmirilal". Choose to suit your taste (I use Tikhalal).

Mustard Oil & Red chilli powder can be bought, but the fresh cream must be prepared. Check the Marination Two below for measurements - curd vs kg of meat. Take the curd and put it inside a muslin cloth. Tie up the cloth so that the curd does not escape. Squeeze it gently to remove the water from the curd. Don't press hard, else the curd will flow out too. Once the water is spilled out, hang the cloth with the curd inside for a minimum of half an hour. If you can put it hanging for a night, the result will be creamier.

For 400g meat – (equivalent to TWO thigh and the drumstick with bones).

- 1/2 Tsp "Tikhalal" or 1 tsp "Kashmirilal" [ATTN: Half tsp is a moderate measure. Use less or more as per your taste. Chilli Powder does not multiply equally with the increase in kilogram of meat, like the other ingredients. The proportion should be according to the hotness you can take.)

Mix them all in a bowl. After slitting the chicken, add them to the Marination One. Make sure to run the mix inside the slits.

Once the chicken is well coated with Marination One, leave for about 30 minutes.

Note : The meat and the Marination TWO (below) must be at the same temperature. If you keep the Marination ONE Chicken in the fridge, the Marination TWO must be prepared at the same time and kept inside the fridge also. I usually keep them in the fridge to increase the drying. Keeping it under normal room temperature is fine too. So, the temperatures of the two marinations must be the same to maintain the consistency and also to keep the texture of the meat uniform.

Marination Two

- 125 gms of curd for TWO thigh and the drumstick with bones - drain water using the muslin cloth method and use only the cream.
- 1 tbs Mustard Oil
- 1/2 tsp ginger paste
- 1/2 tsp garlic paste
- salt (be very careful with Salt)

- 1 tsp Garam Masala (homemade or the one available in the store). Deep frying seeds and then grinding them increases the quality of taste. For Indian Cooking, just like how our grandmother and mother cooked, the ingredients (masala) should be made just for the food to be cooked. That’s the key for the absolute fantastic taste that is missed out in today's "speedy-going-no-where" society.)

- Half Tsp "Tikhalal" or 1/2 tsp "Kashmirilal" [ATTN : Half tsp is a moderate measure. Use less or more as per your taste. Chilli Powder does not multiply equally with the increase in kilogram of meat, like the the other ingredients. The propotion should be according to the hotness you can take. NOTE : In total there is already ONE teaspoon of chilli powder separated inside two marinations.)

Mix them all well. Drop the marinated chicken pieces into the Marination Two (everything from Marination One goes into the Marination Two). Rub well the chicken so that the Tandoori Masala enters between the Slits.

Keep it aside for 30 minutes, then cook it over the grill or inside an oven.

Cooking time: depends on the medium. Over Charcoal - cook on medium height for 30 minutes, turning the sides every 5 minutes.

Summary:

Clean and dry the meat. Add slits on the thigh and leg portions.

Prepare Cream. Make sure to use Mustard oil and special Chili powders ("Tikhalal" or "Kashmirilal).

Marination One - 30 minutes

Marination Two - 30 minutes.

Cook for about 20 to 30 minutes according to the medium used.

(I have sliced a portion in the smaller Tandoori Chicken to show how uniform the chicken meat has cooked.)

Reshmi means silk (Reshami), and in the context Reshmi Kebab, the word is used to refer that the meat is 'soft as silk'. In the list of chicken grilled items, Reshmi Kebab is the easiest to prepare and the most delicious dish. It takes less than 15 mins to prepare and after an hour marination (I recommend 12 hours in the refrigerator inside an airtight glass container), Reshmi Kebab can be grilled or fried over a pan.

4/ Wrap the bowl with a cling film or any kitchen plastic wrap tightly so that there is no room for air to enter. Keep the marination in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour (Keeping it overnight increases the final result).

Cooking

There are 2 ways of roasting Reshmi Kebab:

Traditional (Haryana way): on a grill over wood or charcoal. Turn the Kebab every few minutes to cook all the sides. When it is fully cooked (don't cook the meat too much, else it will become rough), add butter before removing it from the grill.

Restaurants (cheating … lol): In most of the restaurants they prepare Reshmi Kebab on a frying pan (with a lid). When the meat is 90% cooked, they burn a charcoal and place it on the pan near the meat. They add butter on the burning charcoal and close the frying pan with its lid (for about 5 minutes). The butter (ghee) fuming on the charcoal adds a flavour to the meat.

Serve with Red Onions, piece of lime (or lemon) and/or a green chilli. Goes solo, and tastes even better with a Roti.